This invention relates to tools and in particular a tool having a slidable bar adapted to allow the tool to function as both a clamp and a spreader jack.
Hand tools adapted to clamp, grip or otherwise hold together pieces of wood, steel, or other materials for temporary or permanent connection are known.
Prior art C clamps have many disadvantages. Prior art C clamps often employ a screw mechanism to generate the clamping forces. Such devices are slow and require both hands to operate. They also have limited displacement which in turn limits the size and shape of the workpiece which can be clamped. While it is know to simply increase the size of a clamp to adapt it to fit a larger workpiece, such clamps are heavy and difficult to maneuver. Further, such prior art clamps are not readily adapted to be used as a spreader jack nor do such clamps permit clamping at the inside apex angle of the workpiece.
Prior art clamps are also limited in that the maximum span of the clamp is often fixed and limited and the trigger mechanism which advances one of the jaw bars is not reversible and/or is difficult to reassemble following disassembly.
Each of U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,801 to Flinn; U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,449 to Sorensen et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,134 to Sorensen et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,682 to Sorensen et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,420 to Sorensen et al. disclose hand held clamps having a fixed jaw secured to a hand grip and a movable jaw secured to one end of a single slidable bar member adapted to extend through the hand grip. Sorensen et al. ""682 discloses a tool having the capacity to readily convert from a clamp to a spreader jack; however, in order to reverse the face of the movable jaw a force in excess of 200 pounds must be applied to the pins in order to facilitate removal. Further, the use of a coil spring in the trigger mechanism of the handle/bar holder will cause the gripping plate and other elements in the trigger mechanism to fall out of alignment as the bar is withdrawn from the handle and necessarily renders reassembly difficult. U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,134 to Sorensen et al. also mandates the removal and reversal of one of the jaws in order to adapt the device for use as a spreader jack. The hand held clamp of Flinn discloses two parallel bars, however one of the bars is fixed.
It is an object of this invention to provide a tool adapted to be easily converted so as to function as a clamp or as a spreader jack.
Another object is to provide a trigger mechanism for a tool handle that may be rotated 180 degrees to adapt the tool for purposes of offset jacking, for example, when jacking a double hung window.
A further object is to provide a tool where the at least two slidable bars are adapted to provide a so-called C clamp (FIG. 5) having a greatly expanded capacity to receive the workpiece to be clamped; namely, the entire lengths of each of the slidable bars are separately and adjustably received within the bar holder to thereby increase clamping displacement or volume and/or allow clamping of unusual shapes such as an L or T shaped workpiece and where the clamping force must be applied near the inside apex of the workpiece angle and/or the clamp must reach past an intervening leg of the workpiece angle.
Another object is to provide a tool having an improved handle mechanism so that the slidable bars received in the handles may readily be reversed without the need to apply a great deal of force and effort as is required during reversal of the prior art devices and further, will not result in the various individual trigger mechanism elements falling apart as is the case in the prior art devices.
Another object of this invention is to provide a tool having both expansion and compression capability without the need for removal and reversal of a jaw member.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a tool adapted to permit removal of one of the bars yet still allow the tool to function as a clamp or spreader jack.
A further object of this invention is to provide an adjustable tool readily adapted to receive one or more pieces of work material.
Still a further object of this invention is to provide a tool having sufficient clearance for grasping the work at different points or locations.
A further object of this invention is to provide a work tool having four separate jaws.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a tool having a readily reversible feature due to the use of a leaf spring in the trigger mechanism that allows the slidable bars to be easily removed from the handle and reversed without the need for tools and without causing the trigger mechanism parts to become displace and therefore difficult to reassemble as is the case with the prior art devices.
Another object of the invention is to provide a tool having a trigger mechanism in the handle which includes a leaf spring adapted to remain in a working position during disassembly of the trigger mechanism due to the provision of a curved surface at one end of the leaf spring which retains the gripping plate in place.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a tool having a auxiliary jaw to enable the device to operate as a true C clamp and thereby permit clamping beyond flanges or other obstructions.
In addition, the present device provides a tool having a slidable bar, one end of which includes a standing jaw-comprising a pair of opposed face plates at one end thereof so that the tool according to the present invention may be readily converted from a clamp and into a spreader jack.
In summary, the present invention relates to a work tool for clamping, expanding and/or pushing away of the work material, either temporarily or permanently.
These and other objects will be apparent from the following description and the drawings which are described as follows.